According to a study published in British Medical Journal, people who suffer from chronic stress at work have an increased risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.

The current economic climate is fueling the stress issue at work place. As the effect of job cuts are being felt everywhere and while world economy still in a fragile state, stress is an ever-increasing problem.

In the UK, stress has become the most common cause of long-term sickness absence. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates the cost of work-related stress to be around £4 billion each year.

Men who held stressful jobs for over 14 years were almost twice as likely to be obese, have insulin intolerance, high-blood pressure and high cholesterol than those not exposed to stress.

The researcher measured self-reported work stress, which was considered present when participants said job demands were high and job control was low. High job strain carried the highest risk for heart disease.

Women, about a third of participants, were more than five times more likely to have metabolic syndrome if they were chronically stressed, the researchers said.

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in developed countries. About 20.8 million people, or 7 per cent of the population, had diabetes in 2005 in the U.S., according to the National Institutes of Health.

Stress when persists over a period of time become the most dangerous factor behind most of the psychosomatic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, migraine, digestive disorders, ulcer and even cancer, etc.

It is importantt to take action to release stress in daily life. Often people fail to realise that things don’t happen of their own; we have to make them happen.

If we want to stay healthy, we need to ensure that we stay stress-free by exercising regularly such as swimming, dancing or adopting a holistic approach through yoga.

If we don’t take care about our own health then who will?

Issued in public interest by Subodh Gupta. Subodh is the author of the best selling book "Stress Management a Holistic Approach" and conduct session on stress counselling in London.